Yummy Yummy, Oatmeal! (And talking out of my...)

Just before I had Boston, I had a conversation with Cami about "talking out of your butt." She told me how before she had kids, she had several opinions about things she would and wouldn't do when she did have kids. Then she had kids and learned that several of her opinions were just her, "talking out of her butt." I thought about that at the time, and I figured I had realistic opinions and expectations, so I didn't think I was talking out of mine.

Here are several ideas I had (pre-Boston):

1. I will never be one of those parents who cart their baby to the store at night, and the poor baby has to sleep in his carseat while they grocery shop. So selfish... Little did I know, this is probably the most efficient way to shop; Boston is quiet and doesn't need to be entertained. He's still sleeping, so he's not being deprived of that. So the shopping gets done quicker, and Boston never has to get PO'd that he's being pushed all over a store and not being held or played with.

2. I just won't go anywhere in the winter, except to drop the baby off on my way to school and pick him up on the way back home. Right... I think even Boston gets sick of being in the house all day. Just put a nice plush hat on him, some gloves, loads of blankets, and the carseat cover over the top, and he never even knows it's cold outside (although it is a pain to remove all that crap once inside so he doesn't roast).

3. I will never let my poor baby cry for longer than a few minutes without going to get him. I mean, if he's crying, something MUST be wrong... Ha! I laugh at that one now. Sometimes babies just cry. Actually, I think sometimes babies just LIKE to cry. Not that I let Boston scream and scream without attending to him. But if it takes him ten or twenty minutes to fall asleep, so be it. I know he's been fed and changed, so he's fine!

4. Why do parents let their babies get SO messy when they eat? I will never do that. It's not like it's THAT hard to scoop up what they spit out before it gets all over the place. I mean, come on! Yep, guilty of that one, too. And here's the picture to prove it!

Boston actually quite liked the oatmeal this time (I fed it to him in his swing), but of course, spits out as much as he gets in. And then takes his hands and smears the already-existing mess into an even bigger mess. But I'll never let my kids do that, right?

Bumbo Love (or hate)

Boston totally hates his bumbo chair. He is such a turd! This is not a case of "Oh, the poor baby isn't strong enough to hold his head up so he's flopping all around..." He is perfectly capable of holding his head completely steady himself - he sits on my lap unassisted all the time. Actually, he can even sit up completely if I just hold his hands. But the second you put him in his bumbo chair, he arches his back like no tomorrow to try and get out of it! We were trying to get a picture of him in this little outfit that one of Mark's patients got him, so we put him in the bumbo. And, of course, he kicks his legs out and arches his back.

"No, mom, I don't want to sit up in this chair... I want out!" In this picture, he is totally pushing (hard) against my hand. Such a strong willed little baby!

"Get me outta here!" Shortly after I took this, he started yelling at me. He totally kills me - he is very particular with what he likes and doesn't like. And apparently the bumbo is like the bottle - he CAN do it, he just won't!

4 Month Stats

We went to the pediatrician last week for his four month well check. Boston gave him a great big smile when he came in - such a cutie pie! He weighed in at 16 lb 10 0z (80th percentile), was 25 in tall (50th percentile), and his cute little head - or big head - was 17 1/2 inches in circumference (95th percentile). So it looks like he is slimming down a little from last time, but is still a little shortie with a big head! Sounds about right...

Here are some facts about Boston at age 4 months:

He often sleeps through the night entirely, going to bed around 8 pm and waking around 5 am. (And lucky for me, he goes back to bed until 8 am after eating.)

He LAUGHS all the time and is so dang cute when he does it!

He loves to watch his mommy - whenever I leave the room, he totally follows me.

He demands to be held most of the time.

When he is not being held, he likes to play with his play gym (or as Mark and I refer to it - he likes to "smoke the monsters out"... one of the songs on it sounds like the tune of that part from Alice and Wonderland - "We'll smoke the monster out!" Yeah, we have issues...) He has learned to pull the toys down into his mouth and suck on them and gets ticked if he is placed too far away to accomplish this.

He likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; although I've been informed that I need to stop this, or else he will get ADD. Lol, Nikki, you crack me up!

He is starting to eat solid foods (rice cereal and oatmeal) but doesn't quite have the hang of it yet.

He STILL will not take a bottle to save his life (or his mommy's, lol)! Stinker!

His growing seems to be slowing a little - he is still in 3-6 months clothes for the most part; although a few select 6-12 month items fit.

He still has his mommy wrapped around his finger, and I am still having a VERY tough time leaving him to go to school.

We love this little guy so much, and he just gets cuter and cuter and more and more fun everyday. We love you so much, Boston, and we are so blessed to be your parents!

Christmas 2009

We went to get our pictures taken as a family today. We were going to just "walk in" like we did last time, since we kind of have to go off of Boston's timing, which is always unpredictable. We thought we would just go when he was in a good mood. But then we remembered it was December, and there would probably be a before-Christmas rush. So we called, and sure enough, there was only one appointment availabe. We took it. When we arrived, they told us it would be about another 45 min wait. Great, we thought. Boston is in a good mood NOW. Who knows what 45 min is going to bring. Probably hunger and crankiness. Great. So we went to Bajio for an early dinner, and when we got back about an hour later, they were finally ready for us. It was getting time for Boston to eat again, so I was very worried he would be getting hungry and cranky, but he actually did AWESOME! He took some of the cutest pictures I have ever seen. He was all smiles the entire time. Here are the "fruits" of our "labor" this afternoon. It really was quite an ordeal, but it all worked out.

This last one was cropped from a picture of the three of us. Mark and I looked like crap, and Boston adorable! Probably the best picture of him in the whole set, but of course, we looked like crap and couldn't use it!

Candid Cutie

Here are just a few shots of Boston from the past couple days. It is getting so cold outside, and we feel guilty just carting him around in socks, because it is totally not warm enough. So we went out and bought him some shoes. He looks so big in his little tiny Puma's! I love his little face here, too.

Here he is just chillin' on the couch. I love this little outfit on him. What a stud!
And, of course, can't resist that smile! We think he is just the cutest thing ever, so we are always grabbing our camera.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's Biggest Fan!

So about a week and a half ago, I got a text from Mark (who was home with Boston that day) saying that Boston was having a great morning, just watching TV with daddy. I thought, yeah, right. But since then, I have come to find out that Boston absolutely loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I don't know if it's the colors, or the silly characters, or the songs, or what... But he literally watches entire episodes! He loves to prop himself up on his boppy during his new morning TV time to watch. It is amazing to me that this is probably the only consecutive half hour (sometimes hour, when it's back to back episodes) when you literally do not hear a peep from Boston! Check out how cute our little guy is watching TV!

Santa's Little Helper

We put our tree up a couple days ago (or rather, Mark put our tree up). We thought we would get it up so Boston could enjoy the lights for awhile. He really loves it; any time we pass by it, he just stares. He is such a cutie with lights - so enthralled... Isn't he cute in his Christmas jammies!Check out that belly!
And this picture is almost migraine-inducing, but I love Boston's face and his outstreched arm... it's like he's just chillaxin'!

Boston - 3 1/2 months

Boston is getting so big these days - he really looks like a baby now, rather than a newborn. He is getting really good at tummy time now and loves to roll over. He has started laughing regularly, much to Mark's and my enjoyment. His laugh is the cutest sound ever, he uses a really deep voice for such a little boy! He has really good control of his head, but still not quite enough for me to feel comfortable with him in his bumbo alone. He can sit on the couch with back and head support (with me standing in arms reach, of course). Today he successfully ate rice cereal! We are really hoping this will be a repeat experience, since it would alleviate our distress that he won't take a bottle for Jessica or Mark. Today, we pulled out the 6-12 months clothes, and to my surprise, they fit quite well! I can't believe how big this kid is!

Here's Boston sitting next to his dad on the couch, sporting one of his gymboree 6-12 months outfits. I remember picking out this ensemble in gymboree and thinking he would probably be wearing it in February or March. Nope, November it is! I can't believe how much he is growing!

Here's a close-up of his cute little face! I think he is such a beautiful baby!

Here's the biggest boy in the world, just sitting on the couch!

I was trying to get him to smile, but he just kept staring at the camera. So Mark stood behind me and got his attention. This was the result. So cute, but too bad he's looking up at Mark rather than at the camera. And here he is looking back at mama and the camera. I just love looking at that little face!
We love our little boy so much, and stressful as it is with us both being in school, we would do it again a million times over! We love you, Boston!

Another Use For Boston's Swing

Leave it to Mark to come up with this. He thought it would be fun to see what Starkisha would do in Boston's swing. She likes to lie on her back with her paws sticking straight in the air, so he thought she might enjoy this. She actually looks quite comfortable here, head on the pillow and all. He actually turned it on and had her swinging as well!

Here she is starting to get interested in what's going on outside, but she was too afraid to jump out herself, so she just stayed there! Silly Mark... P.S. Look how freakin' fat she is!

Big Boston Boy

So this picture is kind of blurry and dark (it was on my phone) but he was just so cute during tummy time tonight that I had to snap a picture. He is getting so dang big! He started rolling over about a week ago (stomach to back). He gets stronger and stronger everyday. He also started laughing today! It was the greatest sound in the world. I was singing songs to him and making faces at him in the car while Mark was getting gas, and he just started giggling over and over again. So cute!

Doesn't he look so big here? I love his little hands. He is always holding his hands together. Such a cute, big little boy!